Search

Kentler, dünya üzerinde tüm insanlara kaliteli ve konforlu yaşam alanları sunmaktadır. Hızlı bir artış gösteren nüfus, ekonomik, sosyal ve teknolojik gelişmeler; kentlerde bazı olumsuz etkiler göstermektedir. Kırsal alanlardan kentlere yaşanan göçler sonucunda; artan nüfus ve plansız kentleşme, iklim değişikliğine neden olarak fiziksel çevreyi ve insan yaşamını tehdit etmektedir. Bu olumsuz etkilerin ortadan kaldırılması için geleceğe yönelik sürdürülebilir yaklaşımlar benimsenmiştir. Bu yaklaşımlardan birini oluşturan yeşil iş parkları, fiziksel çevrenin daha sürdürülebilir olmasını sağlayarak sağlıklı ve sosyal yaşamlar sunmaktadır. Çalışmada, yeşil iş parklarının ne olduğu açıklanmış, bu parkların insan ve toplum sağlığı üzerindeki faydalarına değinilerek dünyadaki örneklerine yer verilmiştir. Çalışma ile sürdürülebilir kent kavramını benimsemek, kullanıcılara konforlu alanlar sunmak ve yapılı çevre arasındaki bağlantıyı güçlendirmek amaçlanmıştır.

Neighborhood sustainability plays a fundamental role in preserving the city for population growth and future expansion. It also plays a significant role in reducing urban sprawl, one of the main issues facing rapidly growing cities. Ideal sustainable neighborhood planning should address the three sustainability dimensions: environmental, economic, and social sustainability. This paper aims to assess the urban sustainability of the Al Nasseriya neighborhood in Sharjah City according to the UN-Habitat's five principles of sustainable neighborhoods. The strategy depends on investigative procedures utilizing information examination, site visits, and data analysis. Conventionally, the study is based on the UN-Habitat's guidelines on practical neighborhoods that state that neighborhoods should be minimal, coordinated, and associated. They suggest a quantitative analysis scope as a maintainability investigation of neighborhoods using five primary administrators: an effective road network, high-density population, mixed land uses, social blending, and limited land-use specializations. The assessment shows that Sharjah's physical urban context has several shortcomings related to the UN-Habitat's criteria that should be addressed. The results of the study demonstrate the critical issues affecting urban sustainability practice in the study area. Finally, urban improvement guidelines are recommended to advance development and amplify proficiency.

En Turquie, comme sur tout le pourtour méditerranéen, les côtes sont parsemées de villes tournées vers le commerce maritime et leurs habitations possèdent des caractéristiques typiques de l’architecture méditerranéenne. S’étendant sur une large zone géographique, les régions méditerranéennes connaissent différentes conditions climatiques et ces variations se reflètent dans l’architecture vernaculaire et les modes d’établissements.À la suite d’un projet de recherche sur l’architecture durable dans les régions de la Méditerranée occidentale, en Turquie, nous avons choisi d’étudier les habitations vernaculaires des plateaux entourant la ville de Mersin, et en particulier, celles du village de Gözne. Ce travail sur l’architecture vernaculaire a commencé en 2014 et les résultats ont été communiqués à l’occasion de conférences internationales. En septembre 2017, nous avons entamé une recherche scientifique au sein de l’Université des Toros, Département d’Architecture, sur « l’architecture vernaculaire dans les villages de montagne en région méditerranéenne, dans la perspective de la durabilité : le modèle de Gözne ». Sept chercheurs ont travaillé sur un corpus de 44 habitations vernaculaires. Nous avons fait des relevés, des plans, des interviews avec les habitants et des personnes qui connaissent l’histoire de ce village et avons étudié la littérature disponible à ce sujet. La recherche a duré un an et demi et s’est terminée le 7 mars 2019. Cet article rend compte d’une partie de ce travail. In Turkey, Mediterranean coastal areas are studded with settlements that have unique architectural characteristics. Mediterranean regions cover vast areas and are affected by different climatic conditions, the variations of which generate different vernacular architectures and settlement patterns. Following a research project about sustainable architecture around the Mediterranean, this work focuses on vernacular architecture and settlement patterns observed in the Eastern Mediterranean coasts and plateaus of Turkey. More specifically, we studied the village of Gözne, a settlement located on Mersin’s plateau. The initiative started in 2014, and results were presented at different international conferences. In September 2017, we engaged in research with the support of the Department of Architecture, Toros University. The project was entitled Research on the vernacular architecture and site patterns of coastal and plateau settlements in the context of sustainable Mediterranean regions. Gözne as a case study ». Seven scientists worked on the project, identified 44 houses in Gözne, gathered plans, conducted interviews with inhabitants who knew local history, and searched for written documents and books. The project lasted one year and a half and was completed in march, 7, 2019. This article accounts for the results obtained.

The aim of the article is to review current trends in urban spatial solutions and sports activating programs on the example of selected cities. Attractive sports infrastructure encouraging outdoor recreation close to place of residence is an important challenge for countries to reduce sedentary lifestyle, especially for the youngest (indigenous and immigrant) urban residents, and to promote social integration of all age groups.

In order to track how cities develop and grow, multidimensional systems of urban development indicators taking into account the balance between economic, social, and environmental aspects are the best solution found so far. However, there is no unique measurement system that would be widely accepted and applied within various urban areas to verify whether a given city is developing in a sustainable way. The aim of this paper is to apply the TOPSIS algorithm on the basis of selected urban indicators, in order to evaluate the progress of a single city towards the concept of sustainable development observed over a longer period of time. A capital city of Poland, Warsaw, faces several challenges associated with development policy evaluation, thus confirming the need for this research. We meticulously selected 48 indicators from the economic, social and environmental areas as an input for TOPSIS algorithm, which allowed us to calculate a new proposed aggregated index for evaluating urban policy on the example of Warsaw. Research has shown usefulness of applied TOPSIS algorithm in assessing the long-run development of an urban area towards the concept of a sustainable city. The results of our analysis indicated that over a period of ten years, during 2008-2017, the urban policy decision-making has been balancing the socio-economic and environmental aspects and the city of Warsaw has been developed in a sustainable manner.

Sultan Suriansyah tomb tourism area is a multi-role cultural heritage area classified in the religious, social and cultural aspects which is also a tourist attraction, economically it is an area that generates income for the residents because of the presence of tourists. Ecologically it has an important role as part of the city and supporting the Kuin riverbank. Therefore, it is necessary to study related to the fulfillment of green cover near the area to be able to assess the optimal functioning of this area both as a support for river banks and the function of the sustainable city of Banjarmasin. The green coverage was estimated by two methods, survey and Geographic Information System (GIS). The survey is an estimation of the canopy width formed on the condition of the trees. Estimation results show the average width of the canopy is around 5 meters that have not met good ecological criteria. The GIS result is still far from the minimum standard requirement. The difference in deficiency reaches ± 60% deficiency that has not yet reached the minimum green space requirement. A deeper study and revitalization of vegetation are needed for the sustainability of the Sultan Suriansyah tombs tourism area.

This paper presents stories of living with dead trees in Baltimore, MD, USA to explore where, how, and with whom tree remains become lively through art, farming, and sustainability practices. These...

La cartelería publicitaria en sitios urbanos puede convertirse en un contaminante visual con efectos variados sobre el ambiente y las personas. En este estudio se describió el efecto ambiental percibido por parte de la población en las zonas con mayor dinámica de cartelería publicitaria. El estudio es cuali-cuantitativo, no experimental, transeccional y exploratorio-descriptivo. Para el estudio se definieron dos sitios de muestreo sobre intersecciones de avenidas principales de la capital que mostraron mayor cantidad de carteles habilitados en el periodo 2014-2016. En cada punto se realizó observación y se incluyó la percepción de pobladores, transeúntes, informantes clave y calificados. Algunos de los .efectos ambientales negativos más mencionados fueron tala de árboles para la colocación de carteles y afectación de la imagen de la ciudad de Asunción como una ciudad sostenible. Se concluye que la presencia de cartelería publicitaria puede ocasionar daños ambientales en los entornos urbanos donde se encuentra inserta.

Citizens are beginning to play a key role in the development of the smart city concept, providing a wealth of information for the sustainable development of cities. For this research, we planned and conducted empirical studies to examine the areas influencing the quality of life from the point of view of municipalities. A questionnaire form was developed and a survey was conducted on a sample of 84 municipal offices in Poland. We tabulated, statistically processed and analysed the results and thoroughly investigated the areas influencing the quality of life, their impact and importance. We determined which areas of the city are included in municipal research and checked whether there was a need to expand these areas. We found that the people responsible for research in municipal offices are aware that the quality of life is influenced by many areas and conditions. However, these people only choose selected areas for research and have a problem with indicating what can be extended to them. At the end of the article, the limitations of the conducted research are indicated and the directions for further research are proposed.

PurposeThis paper aims to find ways to optimise the thermal performance of this courtyard design in current urban communities in hot arid regions.Design/methodology/approachThe case study for this research is the Dubai sustainable city residential cluster. After collecting weather data from a site visit, four courtyard configurations were suggested and assessed using ENVI-met simulation analysis software to build a virtual model to represent the base case. This model is used to evaluate the thermal behaviour of outdoor urban spaces. The four courtyard layout scenarios were suggested and tested against the base case model. Scenario one is u-shaped, scenario two is linear, scenario three has central buildings with square courtyards and finally, scenario four has u-shaped buildings with square courtyards.FindingsAll the courtyard scenarios achieved an adequate level of user satisfaction, and the wind speed and distribution affected the relative humidity of the outdoor areas. The main findings indicate that courtyard scenario four provided the best microclimatic behaviour within the urban community, as the relative humidity dropped from 56.27% to 48% and the temperature was reduced from 43.03 °C to 41.03 °C.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was focused on Dubai and on urban levels, but the findings can be generalized to cover most of courtiers that have similar climatic and environmental contexts.Practical implicationsArchitects and urban planners will recognize the potential to reduce energy due to natural ventilation and lower solar radiation.Social implicationsIf the findings be applied, this will lead to energy reduction as well as building foot print reduction.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the existing literature by comprehensively reviewing the concept of courtyards in hot climate and in a region of shortage of studies conducted. It will draw future recommendations of how and where to design courtyards within urban communities.

The ideal city planning, in fact is the combination between livable and sustainable city, where the city is able to maintain the quality of life in the present as well as the future, furthermore it generates a comfortable atmosphere for a place to live as seen from many aspects. Yogyakarta is one of the livable cities in Indonesia with the highest index score, 68.14% for social life and 70.89% for the preservation of cultural heritage building. Considering the mission of Yogyakarta which is to enhance cultural quality and strengthen morality, behavior and cultural value of the community, it is considerable to conduct a research regarding to livable city index in Yogyakarta based on the criteria of cultural heritage. Furthermore, this research used scoring dichotomy data as a methodology with variables: the changes in building's form and function, the ownership status and the usage of cultural heritage building, as well as the amount of cultural heritage buildings that have been demolished and/or in the process of demolition. The results show the highest livable index for preservation of cultural heritage building is in cultural preservation area Kotagede (41.77%), followed by Kraton (20.66%), Malioboro (14.06%), Pakualaman (13.21%) and the least is Kotabaru (10.03%). Kotagede has the highest livable index due to the amount of cultural heritage building compared to other preservation areas. From the total percentage, 42.9% of the buildings are in the original form, 30% have its function changed, 70% are in personal ownership, 21.6% are in group/association, and 45.5% are not demolished. The conclusion of this study is that the existence of cultural heritage building in the city will increase the value of environmental identity which is resembles the character of the area and the community within

In European countries such as Denmark and the Netherlands, the compact city is regarded as a sustainable city model. Because of high density and intensity, the quality of the urban environment is e...

Increasing demand for urban agriculture (UA) can be perceived as a global phenomenon. In some parts of the world its main function is to feed the rapidly growing population while in others it is more associated with lifestyle and environmental issues. Undeniably, UA provides opportunities for sustainable city development. UA can support all pillars of sustainable development: ecological, economic, and social. However, depending on existing circumstances certain pillars may be influenced more than others. In this paper we concentrate on urban allotments in Andalusia and take Baeza as an example of a city with an interesting approach to urban gardening. We attempt to answer the question how urban allotments in Baeza affect the city’s sustainable development and what remains to be done to make this influence more effective. Our study showed that allotment gardens in Baeza endorsed all three pillars of sustainable city development. However, developing broader community relations on the city scale, revival of declining local grocery market and dissemination of environmental initiatives which allotment gardens may also promote and facilitate was missing.

Coastal cities continue to experience rapid urbanisation and population growth worldwide, linked to the diverse economic and social benefits flowing from proximity to the sea. Growing concern over human impacts upon coastal waters and global strategic goals for healthier cities requires that coastal cities develop innovative ways to inspire and empower communities to embrace and cherish city seascapes. Coastal city communities have much to gain from a healthier relationship with the sea. This paper proposes a collaborative community-led marine park concept that celebrates a city's connection to the marine environment, enhances sustainable economic prosperity and enables communities to participate in activities that deepen understanding, value, care and enjoyment of the city seascape. A city marine park (CMP) is not a marine protected area because it does not have biodiversity and heritage protection or ecosystem governance as a primary goal and does not aim to restrict human activities. A CMP enables city communities to collaborate towards a shared vision of elevated status and value for the city seascape. A CMP considers socio-economic and geographical context, including land-sea connectivity, and is integrated within a coastal city's strategic urban planning. This paper highlights core themes of a CMP and the diverse and wide-ranging benefits from coordinated activities that better connect the city community with its seascape. If co-created by the coastal city community and civic leaders, a CMP will form an enduring spatial nexus for progress toward healthy cities addressing multiple interlinked global sustainable development goals.

Sustainable city planning plays an important role in fighting climate change, and heritage trails are critical to this effort. Heritage trails are walking, hiking, and biking paths that link features of historical interest. Examples include paths in parks, trails connecting villages, and walking routes in the historic centers of cities. On its face, historic conservation is not a sustainable practice. Heritage sites can be constructed with non-sustainable materials, and they occupy valuable space that city planners could otherwise use. Heritage trails offer a solution. In addition to providing access to cultural sites, these trails are beneficial to the environment for two reasons. First, they promote emissions-free activities. Second, they are green spaces that offset carbon emissions. In order to create buy-in, constructing heritage trails should include a wide range of stakeholders from across the community.

En los últimos cuarenta años, en las ciudades se ha producido una acusada fase de crecimiento y expansión, culminada con el “boom” inmobiliario de la denominada “década prodigiosa” del urbanismo español (1997-2007). En este proceso, las áreas urbanas articuladas por ciudades medias han protagonizado los crecimientos relativos más notables del sistema urbano en España, muy por encima de lo que realmente representan en población, parque de viviendas y superficie urbanizada. Como consecuencia de ello, estas ciudades han modificado su estructura tradicionalmente compacta y relativamente densa, generándose nuevas formas definidas por la fragmentación y el intensivo consumo de suelo en las periferias. Se ha consolidado así un modelo de ciudad diseñado por un planeamiento urbanístico convertido en instrumento para proyectar en el territorio las dinámicas del crecimiento económico. Desde el año 2008 se ha abierto un claro proceso de ralentización de esta expansión, lo que invita a considerar un cambio de ciclo y, en consecuencia, la generación de un nuevo modelo de ciudad más racional y sostenible. Sin embargo, el análisis del planeamiento general vigente en estas ciudades obliga a reconsiderar esta hipótesis, ya que las expectativas de crecimiento continúan siendo muy elevadas y el modelo urbano sigue centrado en la extensión y la propuesta de grandes sectores de nuevo suelo urbanizable., Spanish cities have experienced a phase of marked growth and expansion over the last 40 years. This culminated in a property boom at the end of what came to be known as the ‘prodigious decade’ of Spanish urban development (1997-2007). Within this process, urban areas articulated by medium-sized cities underwent the most notable relative growth in the urban system. As a result, intermediate cities modified their traditionally compact and relatively dense structures and took on new forms that were defined by fragmentation and the intensive consumption of land in the urban periphery. In this way, an urban planning city model was consolidated which served as an instrument for projecting the dynamics of economic growth in each territory. However, since 2008, there has been a noticeable slowing of this expansion. This suggests a change of cycle and, in consequence, the creation of a new and more rational and sustainable city model. However, an analysis of the Master Plans currently applied in these cities has revealed the need to reconsider this hypothesis, as expectations of growth remain high, and the city model continues to focus on expansion and proposals for the development of large areas of new land., Proyectos de investigación “Evolución de las políticas urbanísticas en ciudades medias españolas y sus áreas urbanas: 1979-2019 “(RTI2018-096435-B-C21) y “Procesos de cambio en la urbanización de las ciudades medias y sus áreas urbanas: 1979-2019” (RTI2018-096435-B-C22), financiados ambos por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (España) - Proyectos I+D+i, en la convocatoria “Retos Investigación” de 2018.

Lakes and wetlands are considered a nature-based and cost-effective answer that presents sustainable assets. Their management and development should be included in city sustainable plan as an essential part of the urban sustainable strategies. Benghazi is known with its wetlands and lakes that have always been a focus sector of the city landscape and urban structure through the city history. Unfortunately, the neglect, lack of good management and planning of its wetlands results in negative environmental and economic effects. In addition, lakes due to environmental and economic mishandling have become a distressing source instead of being an enjoyable recess to the city. Therefore, Benghazi residents find themselves in an isolation with their city, its nature, and landscape. This paper investigates the current situation of Benghazi major lakes and wetlands and highlights the main problems for each of them. The research surveys what was done, how it was done, current efforts, and any conventions or agreements related to the subject. From these inspections associated by opportunity analysis for each lake and wetland in Benghazi City, the research resolves sustainable strategies for these city vulnerable elements. The survey includes main issues and problems created by the wetland oversight, and their dangerous effect on the city. Some pervious calls were done to mark these questions. These efforts are taken in consideration in this research. In addition, the research lists the different types of wetlands in Benghazi and the main sustainable strategies needed to improve and profit these wetlands to the favor of people, economy, and environment.

The Indian state of Uttarakhand was formed in 2000 to transform the life and economy of people in hilly region. The state government aims to achieve the target set by United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals framework by 2030. The state’s vulnerability to various natural disasters can be potential challenge in achieving these targets. The capital city of Uttarakhand, Dehradun is situated in seismic zone IV and in the last few decades Dehradun has witnessed rapid urbanization causing construction of buildings compromising on safety and people occupying vulnerable location. This paper focus on spatial and social vulnerability analysis of Dehradun city suing GIS mapping. The study classifies wards of Dehradun city into different categorizes based on risks such as slope, built up area, population density and identifies Spatial Hazard Risk Zones (SHRZ) of Dehradun city. Based on the study recommendations are made for effective management of earthquake risk in Dehradun city. The study proposes few techniques that city planners may consider for earthquake resistant construction in future. Outcomes and recommendations of the study can be handy to city planners and administration team to enable them to plan for these critical risks and achieve state’s sustainability targets.

Landscape has a multifunctional structure. It is defined as a mosaic of ecological, social and socio-ecological processes and the different uses of land based on the interactions between these processes. In this context, landscape scale takes into consideration the different uses of land and their interactions for determining the synergies between multiple targets. Whereas the social, economic and environmental goals in addition to the landscape actions and processes encompassing reduction of climate change and climate compatible approach goals are taken into consideration within the framework of Climate-Smart Landscape Approach. The other goals are related with ecosystem service functioning and quality of life. In this scope, smart applications at the agricultural landscape scale, attaining the variety of land use in landscape for resilience along with management of land use interactions for social, economic and ecological effects are defined as the characteristics of Climate-Smart Landscapes (CSLs). In this regard, integrated landscape management is of importance for obtaining sustainable landscapes. CSLs are multifunctional and operate in accordance with the principles of integrated landscape management principles. It is focused on adaptation to climate change and developing low emission. The gestion de terroirs (GT) approach applied for setting forth goals related with food production, biological diversity or the protection of the ecosystem and rural sources of living is supportive for encouraging CSLs applications. The synergies between climate change and smart landscapes are of significant importance with regard to the smart and sustainable city concept for both research studies and applications.

Sri Lankan vernacular settlement patterns are mainly based on nature's circular metabolism. It is observed that most of the output discharged by one subsystem becomes an input for another, contributing to the sustainability of the entire ecosystem. These patterns were well-adapted to the ecology of a context with no recorded human-made disasters. But, with the increasing population and adoption of transferred alien practices in the recent past, this equilibrium has been adversely affected. Imbalances of new settlement patterns are triggering many natural, and human-made detrimental events, affecting the three pillars of sustainability: environment, society and economy of the country. This study focuses on examining the vernacular settlement patterns and architecture of Sri Lanka, aiming at identifying special features that could be adopted to the city planning in future. The qualitative study is based on interviews with people in villages where specific examples of sustainable practices prevail in settlements. Internal validity of data is met with observations. External validity is met by comparing the results with secondary information on vernacular settlements in Sri Lanka. The analysis was done by transcribing, coding and categorising data. Categories such as village planning and management, site selection, water efficiency, architecture and settlements, green material usage, and co-existence with nature and culture are developed during the analysis. Recommendations are made for future city planning in similar contexts as a result of this research. The output of this research would benefit the society, environment and economy, by adopting sustainable practices in future planning for highly biodiverse contexed nation such as Sri Lanka.

One of the main pillars of sustainable urban development at the local scale is to control the social aspect of urban equality of socio-economic systems. A number of studies confirm that poverty in urban space is accompanied by negative phenomena, such as high unemployment, social pathologies, increased crime rate, or the high level of the decapitalization of space, including the poor condition of housing and municipal infrastructure. However, there is a gap in defining the relation between urban poverty and city structure to control and preferably minimize social inequalities. The aim of the study was to empirically verify the impact of the location of residential properties in relation to poverty-stricken areas in the city. The research covered the housing market in one Polish city (Kalisz) in the years 2006&ndash, 2018. By applying GIS technologies, we identified the location of each property in relation to poverty areas. The data was subjected to regression analysis, with the use of the hedonic approach based on exponential models. The analysis of data allowed us to conclude that location in a poorer area does affect the prices of new flats, which is not only a contribution to the development of science, but is also information that could be used by developers or property valuers to establish the prices of flats, as well as city managers to avoid pauperization of urban districts.

A sustainable city is commonly defined as one that has achieved sustainability in every aspects, including economy, society and environment in order to enhance the quality of life of its current and future citizens. One of the most important objectives that has to be accomplished in order to reach such a state is the protection, conservation and restoration of its natural, cultural and historical heritage. In Ho Chi Minh City, more than 30 community houses have been certified as architectural art relics. This is a form of traditional Vietnamese architecture possessing immense cultural and artistic values that has to be preserved and brought into play. However, the state they are currently in mandates an immediate change in the management methods of the government and the awareness of the local people in order to fully utilize and uphold their values if they are to contribute to the construction of Ho Chi Minh City into a sustainable urban area.

Interest in transport energy efficiency in a given spatial area has been increasingly growing as a research topic. Various studies have analyzed the overall association of energy-related indicators with the city form, whereas the compassion of individual city has yet to be fully evaluated. Given the importance of developing the efficient intercity transport cooperation, the consideration of intracity transport situation in the two relevant cities is necessary before determining the intercity travel mode among various modal choices. There is a possibility that even if the intercity public transport infrastructure is developed, automobiles would be the first choice for the intercity travel as long as the public transport system inside of the peripheral cities is not well developed. Therefore, a focus on differences of spatial transport energy efficiency between central and peripheral cities is of significant importance. In particular, the city combination in Japan would be an appropriate case study. In response to the decrease in population, networking the central city with peripheral cities to construct the coordination through the public transport is highly required in Japan to maintain quality of life and sustainable city management. This study first assesses the transport energy efficiency of various transportation modes in the form of transport energy intensity in Japan. The assessed transportation means include walks, bicycles, automobiles, buses and electric trains. The transport energy intensity is obtained on the basis of well-to-wheel (WTW) fuel consumption and energy input for the material structure. Then, this is integrated with the modal split to obtain the spatial transport energy intensity in a given city. This study focuses on 44 cities in Japan and evaluates its relationship with population. Finally, by using the hierarchical cluster analysis, its differences between central and peripheral cities in the major metropolitan area, the sub metropolitan areas and regional urban areas are evaluated from the perspective of the geographical location and city scale gap to assist in identifying the specific areas where limitations on constructing the coordination in future are imposed and in providing the strategy depending on the city categorization. It was found that transport energy intensity decreases in the order of automobiles, buses, electric trains, bicycles and walks and the energy input for the material structure significantly affects the transport energy intensity for the small-scale transportation means. In addition, the cities in Japan of lower spatial transport energy intensity were also those with greater population. This trend seen in the case of Japan is matched with the global trend which has been widely reported. In the major metropolitan areas, the spatial transport energy intensity in the peripheral city decreased with distance from the central city. Some peripheral cities more than 30 km away from central cities were identified as the most challenging city combination for constructing the coordination with respect to the spatial transport energy intensity.

The “Hanoi Capital Construction Master Plan to 2030 and Vision to 2050” has been approved and implemented by the Vietnamese government since 2011 with the goal of channeling city development to become a sustainable capital in Asia. To achieve that goal, the green corridor has been established with four crucial roles, including: (1) to control the urban sprawl (2) to preserve the landscape and natural value (3) to be a logistics area for the central city (4) to consolidate the environment balance. However, different from the city green corridor in other countries, Hanoi green corridor embraces various high-density residential areas and new development projects, which has resulted in land use transformation. Therefore, the paper has two objectives, including (1) evaluating the ecological balance capacity of Hanoi green corridor for the whole city and (2) assessing the change of the afore-mentioned capacity since establishment due to city transition. The research methodology is to use the plant biomass calculation tool, combining with high-resolution satellite images in different years. The research result will quantify the ability to balance CO2 in the air of Hanoi green corridor and its change, providing a scientific basis for adjustment of land use planning toward a sustainable city development.

The construction of sustainable urban forests follows the principle that well-being in people is promoted when exposed to tree population. Facial expression is the direct representation of inner emotion that can be used to assess real-time perception in urban forests. The emergence and change of facial expressions for forest visitors are in an implicit process. The reserved character of oriental races strengthens the requirement for the accuracy to recognize expressions through instrument rating. In this study, a dataset was established with 2,886 randomly photographed faces from visitors in a constructed urban forest park and a promenade at summertime in Shenyang City at Northeast China. Six experts were invited to choose 160 photos in total with 20 images representing one of eight typical expressions as angry, contempt, disgusted, happy, neutral, sad, scared, and surprised emotions. The FireFACE ver. 3.0 software was used to test hit-ratio validation as the accuracy (ac.) to match machine-recognized photos with those identified by experts. According to Kruskal-Wallis test on the difference from averaged scores in 20 recently published papers, contempt (ac.=0.40%, P=0.0038) and scared (ac.=25.23%, P=0.0018) expressions cannot pass the validation test. Therefore, the FireFACE can be used as an instrument to analyze facial expression from oriental people in urban forests but contempt and scared expressions cannot be identified.

The integration of ecosystem service mapping in decision-making is crucial to place effective urban design and sustainable planning solutions. Nonetheless, often ecosystem service maps are the product of different data inputs that influences the final modeling output thus affecting final decisions, especially when a finer and site-specific assessment is required to design practical and effective solutions. In this work, the city of Turin (Northwest Italy) was selected as a test site for an empirical experiment of ecosystem service mapping using the software Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST): two habitat quality models of the city were compared in a Geographic Information System environment, the first using the &ldquo, traditional&rdquo, sensitivity employed during the LIFE SAM4CP European research while the second using the natural difference vegetation index to re-assign the sensitivity scores. Results demonstrate that the integration of site-specific information in the habitat quality input model generates a different result, which is capable of differentiating all those dense built-up areas of the dense settlement system that provide ecosystem supporting functions at the city-level. These differences were analyzed to define new green hotspots in the compact city while furnishing a new perspective for sustainable city planning.

Discerning the relationship between urban structure and function is crucial for sustainable city planning and requires examination of how components in urban systems are organized in three-dimensional space. The Structure of Urban Landscape (STURLA) classification accounts for the compositional complexity of urban landcover structures including the built and natural environment. Building on previous research, we develop a STURLA classification for Philadelphia, PA and study the relationship between urban structure and land surface temperature. We evaluate the results in Philadelphia as compared to previous case studies in Berlin, Germany and New York City, United States. In Philadelphia, STURLA classes hosted ST that were unique and significantly different as compared to all other classes. We find a similar distribution of STURLA class composition across the three cities, though NYC and Berlin showed strong correlation with each other but not with Philadelphia. Our research highlights the use of STURLA classification to capture a physical property of the urban landscape

Urban parks are very important in terms of urban life quality. Recently, because of the intense urbanization, the pressure on urban green areas has been increasing. People need urban parks due to their activities such as resting, fun, etc. Urban parks provide numerous contributions to cities in terms of enabling recreation and entertainment, creating green spaces within the city, and ensuring harmony between nature and people. Parks are the most important field designed to meet user’s recreational activities. In addition, parks create spaces for people to escape from concrete areas through urbanization and improve the quality of life of users in urban areas. The activity opportunities offered by the parks and the location and accessibility of the parks are among the most important factors affecting the reason why users choose parks. In terms of a healthy and sustainable city, parks should be designed in line with the demands of the users and associated with the well-being of the users. In this study; It is aimed to determine the environmental components and design features of the city parks in line with user opinions. When choosing parks in Niğde Province, the locations, sizes and landscape elements of the parks were taken into consideration. Scope of work; in order to determine the user satisfaction in Niğde city parks, a questionnaire form was prepared, and a survey was carried out with 400 people. The users which participated in the survey, were selected on a voluntary basis. The results that were obtained from the interviews, were transferred to SPSS software, and analysed by t test. Current maps and satellite images of the parks are used. As a result of the survey study; It was concluded that the activity areas and park design in the park affect the preference of the users. In addition, it has been determined that the parks are clean and well-maintained, but the number of preferred vegetative elements and reinforcement elements in the parks is insufficient. In the last part of the study, the criteria that should be taken into consideration in order to prefer the city parks more for the users, are proposed., Kent parkları, kentsel yaşam kalitesi açısından çok önemlidirler. Özellikle son yıllarda kentleşmenin giderek artmasından dolayı, kentsel yeşil alanlar üzerindeki baskı giderek artmaktadır. İnsanlar dinlenme, eğlenme vb. faaliyetlerden dolayı kent parklarına ihtiyaç duymaktadırlar. Kent parkları, rekreasyon ve eğlenmeye olanak vermeleri, şehir içinde açık-yeşil alanlar oluşturulmaları ve doğa ile insan arasındaki uyumun sağlanması açısından kentlere sayısız katkıda bulunmaktadırlar. Parklar, insanların fiziksel ve psikolojik ihtiyaçlarını karşılamak için tasarlanmış en kritik alanlardır. Ayrıca parklar, insanların kentleşme dolasıyla betonlaşan alanlardan kaçmaları için mekânlar yaratmakta, kentsel alanlarda kullanıcıların yaşam kalitesini iyileştirmektedirler. Parklar tarafından sunulan aktivite fırsatları ve parkların yeri ve erişilebilirliği kullanıcıların parkları tercih nedenini etkileyen en önemli faktörlerin başında gelmektedirler. Sağlıklı ve sürdürülebilir kentler açısından parkların kullanıcıların talepleri doğrultusunda tasarlanması ve kullanıcıların refahı ile ilişkilendirilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu çalışmada; kent parklarının çevresel bileşenlerinin ve tasarım özelliklerinin kullanıcı görüşleri doğrultusunda belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Niğde İlinde parklar seçilirken parkların konumları, büyüklükleri ve içerisinde bulundurdukları peyzaj öğeleri dikkate alınmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında; Niğde kent parklarında kullanıcı memnuniyetinin belirlenmesi amacıyla anket formu hazırlanmış ve 400 kişi üzerinden anket çalışması yapılmıştır. Anket çalışmasına katılan kullanıcılar gönüllülük esasına dayalı olarak seçilmişlerdir. Görüşmelerden elde edilen sonuçlar SPSS yazılımına aktarılmış ve t testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Çalışma kapsamında, parklara ait hâlihazır haritalar ve uydu görüntüleri kullanılmıştır. Anket çalışması sonucunda; park içerisinde bulunan faaliyet alanlarının ve park tasarımının kullanıcıların tercihini etkilediği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Ayrıca kullanıcı görüşleri doğrultusunda parkların temiz ve bakımlı olduğu, ancak parklarda tercih edilen bitkisel öğelerin ve donatı elemanlarının sayısının yetersiz olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Çalışmanın son kısmında kent parklarının kullanıcılar açısından daha çok tercih edilmesi için dikkat edilmesi gereken kriterler önerilmiştir.

This research analyzes the spatio-temporal distribution of isolated dwellings; i.e., those with no surrounding neighborhood, throughout Japan for 2009 and 2014 using developed residential micro geodata. We then calculate the lifeline utility maintenance costs and benefits in relation to relocating residents to the city center. The main results are as follows. First, the number of isolated dwellings decreased nationwide although the rate of isolated dwellings increased, predominantly in mountainous areas and remote islands. Second, there was no significant relationship between isolated dwellings and aging rate according to municipality-level aggregated data; however, the aging rate of isolated dwellings was higher than that of non-isolated dwellings according to pinpoint non-aggregated data. Finally, calculations of lifeline utility costs and migration promotion expenses indicate that almost all municipalities in Japan could recover relocation promotion expenses in 13 years, provided that migration promotion expenses are 10 million Japanese yen (JPY) per isolated dwelling. However, convincing residents to agree to relocation can be challenging. Moreover, the benefits of isolated dwellings should also be considered; i.e. ecotourism, cultural values, traditional societies, and freedom of residence. The spatial analysis and modeling results of this study can be used to promote vital public involvement in city management through discussion and information sharing among stakeholders. Therefore, future work will improve the calculation process to promote discussion on sustainable city management.

Horticultural crops refer to fruits, vegetables, spices, and ornamental and medicinal plants which are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Rapid urbanization and migration of rural populace to the more industrialized city center has led to poverty, malnutrition, low and insecure incomes, ill-health and other livelihood problems. These problems are mostly seen among the people residing in urban areas who have migrated from rural areas. Urban horticulture ensures food and nutrition security, healthy environment and sustainable livelihoods, employment generation, among others. As such, this chapter carried out an empirical review of the state of urban horticulture in cities across sub-Sahara Africa. This is to enumerate ways whereby the benefits of urban horticulture can be specified in the region. It concluded that governments in the different countries need the political will to actualize identified benefits of urban horticulture. The chapter then recommends sensitization of the pertinent stakeholders in countries across sub-Saharan Africa on the benefits of urban horticulture. Such stakeholders include politicians, policy makers and urban households. This is in order to integrate the concept into urban land use planning while carefully considering sustainability of the environment.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the underground levels of a city to explore how vernacular and historic underground urban facilities help traditional cities to be sustainable. Therefore, the authors look at how culture, climate and economy affect those facilities. Design/methodology/approach The paper focuses on vernacular and local underground urban facilities in historic cities to find more sustainable processes of urban development that integrate cultural, climatic and economical concerns into design planning. The paper is based on a case study of the underground infrastructure of Dezful, Iran. Findings There are several vernacular building styles around the world, especially in Iran, with different shapes, materials, arrangements and concepts. Building construction has significant impacts on the environment and natural resources. Dezful is a city in Iran with a lot of potential in terms of its architecture. Vernacular cities possess infrastructure that helped them thrive in harsh climates. For instance, Dezful takes advantage of a systematic infrastructure termed the “Underground City.” Originality/value The traditional architecture of Dezful plays an important role in creating underground spaces, especially urban and architectural elements with thermal isolation properties that can be used as housing and as food storage. In this century, building construction could adopt these environmental properties, which could lead to low energy consumption in urban environments. Considering traditional and contextual elements in urban planning and design could revive sustainable community practices in urban environments.

The negative environmental effects of urban sprawl compared to compact cities are well documented. Unlike in many compact cities, nature in suburban areas is accessible in many forms. The use of the only positive effect of suburbanisation – better access to nature – is worth having a closer look at. In a study in the suburban areas of Linz, Austria, this subject matter was investigated. Finished in 2005, the SolarCity Linz was built for 3,500 new suburban residents, and it is located within walking distance to the urban protected area “Natura 2000 Traun-Danube Alluvial Forest”, which features a newly-established landscape park in between. In a survey, 153 inhabitants were questioned on their behaviour, their preferences and their relations to the different natural surroundings. The same was done in a survey of the visitors of the urban protected area (91 interviews), using pictures illustrating a gradient of nature types between wilderness and well-maintained recreational green. A large proportion of inhabitants (75%) and visitors of the urban protected area (66%) was not aware of the protection status. The majority in both questionings appreciates the wilderness in the protected area, but only one third of the questioned residents are users of it. The newly-established landscape park has the highest user preference (more than two thirds). A clear majority of questioned residents (73%) prefer to use the well-maintained landscape park over the accessible wilderness of the Natura 2000 area. Preferred utilisation activities in the protected area are walking (28%), nature observation (24%), relaxing (18%) and sports (6%). The favoured activities relaxation, meeting others and walking are mostly pursued in the landscape park or in urban green. Nature is important for 54% of all respondents, but the preferred kind of nature depends on acceptance, safe accessibility, and infrastructure quality. These findings can be used to successfully integrate different types of nature into the urban pattern in a way that people better benefit from urban nature and to better protect nature close to urban areas. Since these aims are not limited to suburban areas, they have potential to be realised in sustainable city concepts as well.

This paper examines the spatially stratified association between various urban leisure entertainment activities and street configurations via a spatial design network analysis and attempts to provide insightful implications for the sustainable development of a city by using a typical inland city of China, Wuhan, as an example. The street network is characterized by performing a spatial network analysis of the closeness, betweenness, severance and efficiency parameters. The kernel density estimation (KDE) method is employed to measure the proximities of every place to various types of leisure entertainment facilities. The two sets of densities are then analyzed to determine whether spatially stratified correlations exist and whether various leisure entertainment facilities are more spatially correlated with specific street features. The results indicate that a good street network design can be measured not only by closeness or betweenness but also by severance and efficiency. Four street network metrics are spatially correlated with the locations of leisure entertainment activities. Various types of leisure entertainment activities have distinct locational preferences for street networks (e.g., chess and card rooms favor closeness). The conclusions of this paper can help urban planners and policy-makers spatially optimize street networks and leisure venues to develop a sustainable city.

Este artigo pretende discutir as cidades médias sob a ótica da sustentabilidade ambiental, discorrendo acerca da função social da cidade e como sua aplicação carece de uma firme política urbana. Expõe considerações sobre as cidades médias, destacando suas singularidades em relação às metrópoles e às cidades pequenas. Conceitua-se desenvolvimento sustentável, localizando-o no Estatuto da Cidade para vislumbrar a chamada cidade sustentável. Busca aplicar o modelo proposto nos municípios de Rio Verde e Anápolis. A metodologia empregada, de natureza bibliográfica, sendo o método adotado o comparativo, analisando dados relativos aos municípios goianos, obtidos junto ao Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística/IBGE, o Instituto Mauro Borges e respectivas prefeituras municipais. Os municípios escolhidos são cidades médias que precisam adotar ações mais pontuais para serem consideradas sustentáveis, tais como, aprimorando o saneamento básico, a coleta seletiva de resíduos sólidos, e outras opções sustentáveis de desenvolvimento urbano.

Purpose- In spite of the rapidly growing population, especially in big cities due to different reasons (migration, employment and education opportunities etc.), the life areas and resources of the cities are depleted rapidly due to unplanned construction and unconscious use of resources. In order to leave more livable cities and habitats to future generations, the concept of sustainable cities is very important. In this study, city logistics was examined in terms of the concept of sustainability and the effect of sustainability on city logistics was focused. In the first study, a detailed literature on sustainable city was investigated. Methodology- The questionnaire form, which consists of 150 participants who have been living in Izmir for at least ten years, has been answered. Statistical methods were used to evaluate the concept of sustainable city according to gender, age and educational status. Findings- According to the results of the survey, the province of Izmir was examined in terms of a sustainable city; weaknesses and strengths were highlighted and solutions were proposed for the future. In addition, it was found that there was a significant difference in sustainable city perception according to education, age and gender. Conclusion- According to the results obtained within the scope of the study, solutions were proposed for the future. As a solution suggestion, the subway stations have been examined and it has been proposed to add Peron Separator Door Systems and to arrange the sensible floors according to the said system.

The geographical location of Bangladesh is gifted with enormous natural recourse: water, alluvial land,suitable climatic conditions for bio diversity and other natural assets. The capital, Dhaka, surroundedby rivers on four sides, was once a blue-green-built environment offering a healthy living atmosphere forits habitants. The city was dotted with huge and crisscrossed water bodies, a tolerable population density,and enough open spaces. Urban and peri-urban areas of the city complemented its food demand whichsubsequently maintained the environmental equilibrium. The modern concept of eco-urban-agriculture willdefinitely be beneficial in such a dense city which is rapidly losing its livability by insensitive urbanization.This paper will describe how a city could generate food, improve health, and utilize waste by furthering theestablished urban-agriculture concept. It aims to develop an understanding of this concept in Bangladesh,particularly in the dense urban fabric of Dhaka, by discussing the theoretical background of urban agricultureand practiced models of eco-urban-agriculture in urban settings around the world.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the living conditions in ten capital cities in Latin America to propose indicators that could help to quantify the sustainability of those capital cities, and its impact over the competitiveness of a country. Design/methodology/approach It is proposed a linear model summing the score of ten quantifiable indicators and according with the result categorize the capitals as “sustainable city,” “weak sustainability” and “threatened sustainability.” Findings There is a good relationship between the sustainability of the city and the competitiveness of the country. This is the case of Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Santiago, followed by Lima, La Paz and Bogotá a similar result to the rank obtained by Mckinsey Global Institute (2011a, b). It is found that the four capitals categorized as “sustainable” have the highest potable water production, but it was not define a direct correlation between a country’s competitiveness and the development of important medium-sized cities. Research limitations/implications Limited availability of comparable information for the capital cities. Practical implications The results identified the need to improve specific services and conditions of the inhabitants. Social implications The capital cities concentrate the majority of the population of the countries reaching one-third of the total in four out of the ten cities evaluated. Originality/value The study presents selected indicators not in use to classify the cities sustainability.

Noise pollution distribution in each city around the world is necessarily influenced by its own design. A lot of factor associated to urban planning have a considerable effect on volume of traffic, vehicles distribution, traffic conditions, etc. And it is know that, from a temporal and spatial point of view, the most important source of noise in cities is road traffic. For that, good relationships between urban planning and different factors such as urban density, urban morphology, urban land use, street distribution, street environment and green spaces are being founded. In this way, the fact of finding a sustainable city could be closer, at least with respect to noise pollution. A good knowledge of these relationships would allow better prediction, analysis and prevention of such pollution through an effective design of urban environments. However, although in the first decade of XXI century these relationships were treated in some works, only some aspects of these problems were considered, essentially focused on street functionality. In the last years, this topic has reached more important development and more studies focused on the analysis of the relationships between the distributions of pollution and urbanism. This work makes a revision of spatial sampling methodologies for noise pollution assessment in relation with urban planning and a review of studies that have analysed the relationships between urban noise and different specifics aspects of urban design.

Метою статті є вивчення практик містобудування, які постійно змінюються та розвиваються; вивчення підходів, методів, теоретичних та проектних інструментів, які змінюють європейське місто. Методологія дослідження полягає у застосуванні емпіричного методу, аналізі та порівнянні результатів розроблених автором проектів. Наукова новизна. На основі практичного проектування і теоретичного узагальнення нами визначено такі принципи міського дизайну: гібридизація багаторазового використання, гібридизація міста та ландшафту, гібридизація міста, сільської зони та інфраструктури, гібридизація місто «низького підйому» з формами міста «високого росту». Висновки. У сучасному міському та ландшафтному дизайні виникає плюралістичний горизонт з послідовним і еклектичним підходом. Це характеризує загальний європейський профіль трансформації міст. Такий підхід базується на шануванні сутності, цінностей та звичаїв існуючого міста, усвідомленні, що його застосування відбувається в умовахі конфлікту між інноваціями та адаптації до них самого міста, і це є необхідним для захисту та виживання міста., The purpose of the article is to explore the continually changing and developing universe of urban planning practices, to study approaches, methods, and theoretical and design tools that is changing the European city. The methodology of the research is to apply the empirical method, to analyze and compare the results of the developed projects. Scientific novelty. On the basis of practical design and theoretical generalization, we have defined such principles of the urban design: hybridize multiple uses, hybridize city and landscape, hybridize city, rural and infrastructure, hybridize city «low rise», as the existing city, with forms of «high rise» city. Conclusions. In modern urban and landscape design emerges is a pluralistic horizon, with piecemeal and eclectic approaches, through which a common European profile of urban transformation shines, respectful of the essence, values, and customs of the existing city, aware of operating within the conflicts induced by the processes of innovation and adaptation of the city itself, processes necessary for its protection and survival.

The last century was marked by a high demographic revolution and the fast development of urban environments. Now, more than 50% of the world’s 7.5 billion humans live in cities. This change has often induced the degradation of environmental quality in urban areas. As a consequence, management policies are now fostering the ‘return of nature’ in cities, which, in turn, is requiring a better understanding of the ecology of urban environments. In particular, there is a need for a better knowledge on soil management because soils provide many functions in cities such as urban agriculture. Optimizing the diversity of soil-living organisms is essential to many environmental functions such as water depollution, biochemical cycles, fertility and carbon storage. However, few studies on the biological quality of urban soils have been performed so far. This article reviews actual knowledge on soil biological quality for urban management. The definition of urban soils is discussed, and we present services provided by soils. We also review modern methods and techniques to assess the biological quality of urban soils. Last, we suggest communication means to improve the consideration of soil quality in urban planning policies aimed at sustainable cities.

Christina D. Rosan and Hamil Pearsall. Toronto, Canada: University of Toronto Press, 2017. 198 pp., maps, photos, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95 paper (ISBN 978-1-4426-2855-7).Ur...

Will the health crisis we have been experiencing since March 2020, with the Covid-19 epidemic that has spread worldwide, lead to a radical change in the way we produce the city? This is what a retrospective look at the health crises of 19th century Europe, which led to the invention of new architectural and urban models, invites us to consider. Born in the middle of the century, developed thanks to Louis Pasteur’s discovery in 1865 of the role of microorganisms in contamination and contagion,...

The continuous presence of the landscape concept in planning and design of the Banja Luka area until the end of the 20th century influenced the formation of the identity of Banja Luka as a green city. However, in the last twenty years, there is an absence of the green city concept from planning and designing of Banja Luka's area. In order to improve the state of urban greenery and achieve the satisfactory condition of the endangered landscape elements, this paper re-examines their significance for the city. The green infrastructure has ecological, social and aesthetic functions and it becomes an imperative in defining the strategic goals of a sustainable city. The study showed, that there are possibilities of increasing the size of green areas and improving the quality of green areas in the built city tissue. One of those possibilities is transformation of the existing brownfields into green areas. From the perspective of urban planning, the purpose of this paper is to point out the possibility of implementing the greenways in the city structure for the case study in Banja Luka. In this context, the research focuses on the area of the former Incel factory and the ability to transform the abandoned railways into a greenway. In this research, the sustainable spatial development context of Banja Luka is regarded as a permanent category which includes, among the others, the ambient values, the spirit of the place and the features of a green city are important for the city's inhabitants.

Background Achieving urban sustainability is the ultimate destination of urban development. City rankings as one of the sustainability assessment tools have received increasing attention from the scientific community. However, few study assesses Chinese cities’ sustainability performance using the big data of existing city rankings. Aim This study aims to assess Chinese cities’ sustainability performances based on the outcomes of the existing internet big data of city rankings. Methods The outcomes of city rankings were used as the raw dataset. The “sustainability” of city rankings, city’s appearance frequency, and its ranking place were comprehensively considered during evaluation processes. By considering the above factors, the scores of different cities were calculated in terms of overall sustainability and domain sustainability. Furthermore, the GeoDetector was applied to explore the association between social-economic and overall ranking scores as well as the interrelation among TBL dimensions. Results Chinese cities’ sustainability performance was extremely uneven in spatial distribution. In terms of overall and domain sustainability, well-performing cities were aggregated in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta metropolitan regions. The top ten sustainable cities were Hangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Hong Kong, Tianjin, Suzhou, and Xiamen. Most cities did not reach good coordination among the TBL dimensions, instead of developing well in one or two aspects. The results also revealed that current city rankings eyeing more economic and social development, while considering less environmental dimension. Moreover, TBL dimensions mutually reinforce each other in sustainable city construction. The environmental pillar played a critical role and interacting with other dimensions significantly enhanced urban sustainability. Conclusion The outcomes of existing city rankings can be used as a new resource to evaluate cities’ sustainability performance. Current city rankings in China are not systematically considered in terms of TBL dimensions. Cities should enhance the coordination among TBL pillars, and increase the attention on environmental dimension. More empirical studies involving big data of city rankings will contribute to a new perspective to promote the practice of sustainable urbanization in China.

Protected areas are the key elements of the green infrastructure and environmental city frame that provide variety of ecosystem services to the people as well as serve as the centers of investment attraction. The total area of the protected lands of Khabarovsk is 583.57 ha (1.5% of the city area): 5 protected ones of regional significance, 24 areas of local significance. There are 117 species observed in the dendroflora of all protected areas, which is relatively close to the natural biodiversity indicator. The reserve for expanding the protected areas network in Khabarovsk is mainly represented by the lands of the Russian Ministry of Defense, floodplain lands, the adjacent areas to the water protection zones of small rivers in the city, and ecologically restored technogenic sites. In addition to the forest type areas this will permit to create water and meadow-marsh protected plots, which meets the representativeness criteria of the natural ecosystems of the Amur River Region. The case study of a protected area called Orekhovaya Sopka, allows seeing that keeping record of the ecosystem services increases both the economic and the environmental values of the territories. The results may be applied in: municipal management.